Psychologist to speak on how the brain learns languages

Psychologist to speak on how the brain learns languages

January 18, 2018

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Ping Li, Penn State professor of psychology, linguistics, and information sciences and technology, will speak on “Understanding the Language-Learning Brain through Cyber-Enabled and Computational Methods.” The event will be held in 233A HUB-Robeson Center from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. on Feb. 7.

This talk is hosted by the Institute for CyberScience (ICS) as part of the institute’s CyberScience Seminars. These free, public events showcase how computational research addresses real-world scientific and social problems.

Li, an associate director of ICS, researches how the brain learns and represents languages. When people attempt to learn a language, their experiences of hearing and reading the language change their brains’ function and structure. Li works to understand these changes using computational modeling, immersive technology, and data-intensive brain science.

Li will discuss his recent findings and explain how cyber-enabled technology can enable student learning and promote positive brain changes. For instance, his research could lead to personalized learning experiences geared specifically to be effective for an individual student’s brain.

Space is limited, so please reserve a seat at the seminar by Feb. 2. The event includes Li’s talk, an extended question-and-answer session, and time to socialize. Refreshments will be served.

The Institute for CyberScience is one of the five interdisciplinary research institutes under the Office of the Vice President for Research, and is dedicated to supporting cyber-enabled research across the disciplines. ICS builds an active community of researchers using computational methods in a wide range of fields through co-hiring of tenure-track faculty, providing seed funding for ambitious computational research projects, and offering access to high-performance computing resources through its Advanced CyberInfrastructure. With the support of ICS, Penn State researchers harness the power of big data, big simulation, and big computing to solve the world’s problems. For more information, visit https://ics.psu.edu or email ics@psu.edu.

Ping Li, professor of psychology, linguistics, and information sciences and technology, is an expert on how the human brain learns.